Graduation Instructions

CURRENT STUDENTS

Congratulations, you will be graduating soon!

Below you will find instructions on the processes involved in applying for graduation at Marquette University and receiving your diploma. Read these instructions closely, as they give you important information, deadlines, and explanations.

It is each student's responsibility to apply for graduation, and to do so by the deadlines listed on the Academic Calendar. Reminders are also sent to each graduate student via MUGS Weekly Announcements, which is sent to your eMarq account. Degree seeking students should apply to graduate via CheckMarq (there is a link that says "Apply for graduation" on the My Academics page in the Student Center).

Note: There is a distinct difference between officially graduating and participating in the graduation ceremony. Graduation ceremonies are held in May and December (though December 2013 will be the last ceremony held in December). Because there is no August ceremony, some August graduates will be permitted to participate in the preceding May's ceremony. In general, master's degree candidates and certificate students expecting to graduate in August may apply to participate in the May ceremony.

Doctoral students cannot participate in a commencement ceremony unless all graduation requirements have been completed by the graduation deadlines specified in the Graduate Bulletin.

What happens after I submit my graduation application?

Once graduate students have applied to graduate, their names will be sent to the Office of the Registrar for ordering of the diplomas, and also to the Office of Special Events for graduation ceremony planning. The Office of Special Events will, in turn, send out a formal announcement on behalf of the graduate student. No invitation or ticket will be required to attend the university ceremony. Note: Receipt of these invitations to the graduation ceremony does not mean the student has been approved for graduation. Invitations are sent out well before the final audit of each student's academic record has been completed.

The submission of the graduation application will cause a summary of the academic record of each applicant to be created. That academic summary will be sent to the department for auditing. Once the department has completed the audit, it will be sent to the Graduate School, where the audit will be reviewed.

The results of the audit will be one of three determinations:

the student is fully eligible to graduate,

the student is definitely not eligible to graduate, or

the student may be eligible pending completion of remaining requirements. These pending requirements are typically course work and/or defense and submission of the thesis or dissertation.

payment of the publishing fee as specified on the ProQuest ETD Administrator Web site.

Ensure that the formatting of your dissertation is in accordance with the instructions in the Dissertation Directives, or it may be returned for reformatting.

Will I be notified if I will/will not graduate?

The Graduate School will work with each department to resolve the final status of each student that is in a pending status. The defense and submission of officially approved theses and dissertations must occur by the deadline listed in the Graduate Bulletin. Completion of final course work is typically not known until a day or two prior to the graduation ceremony, so notification of students who are pending course work is not practical. This does not affect doctoral students, who will have completed their course work much earlier, but it does affect master's and certificate students.

All doctoral candidates that have applied for graduation will be notified of the status of their graduation audit as that audit is completed. If the audit is pending the dissertation defense/submission, students who have not completed those steps will be notified after the expiration of the deadline, that they are not approved for graduation. Students who do defend and submit their dissertations prior to the deadline will be told at the time that their dissertation and all associated paperwork is submitted that they are approved for graduation.

Master's degree candidates whose graduation status does not depend on final grades will be notified of their status when the academic audit is complete. Master's degree candidates whose graduation is pending the results of courses taken during the final term will be notified by the Graduate School after grades have been submitted by the professor and processed by the Office of the Registrar.

What should I do if I am denied for this graduation, but plan to graduate in the future?

Any candidates who are not approved for official graduation must reapply for a future graduation cycle, and they must do so by the appropriate deadline. Students who apply for one graduation and who are denied for whatever reason will not automatically have their applications for graduation carried forward.